


No Way That's Happening Again

by pessi_mista



Category: Ame-Comi Girls
Genre: F/F, Haunted Castles, Magical Artifacts, spirits and demons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 10:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4916230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pessi_mista/pseuds/pessi_mista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barbara is just about to complete a joint mission with her enemy-occasionally-turned-ally Duela. Once they destroy the last remaining amulets from which demons and spirits draw their powers, the world will become a safer place for all. Except maybe for Barbara herself, if her previous post-mission experiences with Duela are anything to go by.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Way That's Happening Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



A strong smell of mildew hit Barbara's nostrils as she stepped into the derelict hall. She cast a sidelong glance at Duela, who walked by her side with a relaxed expression, apparently not bothered in the slightest by the odors and the dirt around them. Maybe Barbara shouldn't care either. But in truth, she was relieved that this was the very last haunted castle they would have to invade. Just a few more demonic amulets to destroy, and then she would be free. In more than one sense. At least, that's what she hoped.

With wide steps, Duela took the lead as they crossed the hall and headed toward the corridor across from the entrance door. Barbara raised her chin and puffed out her chest in hopes of mimicking her confidence. The sounds of their heels clattering against the bumpy stone floor seemed to have caught the attention of a small group of spirits, for they materialized a few feet ahead of them, floating right above an agonizing demon. 

Under different circumstances, Barbara might have felt sorry for those creatures. The demon, a winged creature the size of a pit bull, rolled slowly over a puddle of blood that certainly had come off its own wounds. The mouth in its gargoyle-like face was open as if it was going to cry, but no sound came from it. The five ethereal beings hovering over the demon moved their phantasmagorical hands in jerks. They had all but lost the glimmer that they would have given off in past times, being now reduced to little more than colorless, naked humanoid forms. Barbara and Duela passed by the rueful group, and none of its members tried to do anything against them.

However, Barbara couldn't forget what they would have done if they weren't so obviously weakened now. For the previous two months, hordes of similar creatures had been terrorizing several cities all around the world. Deriving their powers from magical artifacts planted inside dozens of run-down buildings, demons and spirits had initially preyed upon any human being who was unfortunate enough to cross paths with them, and later proceeded to actively hunt for more people.

They reached the corridor's entrance, and Duela raised her hand to push spider webs aside. The multiple holes on the ceiling let in enough of the afternoon sunshine that Barbara could see very clearly a bite mark on her upper arm. Even Duela had fallen prey to a hungry demon. But the unwise creature messed with the wrong person. The demon lost its life, and Barbara and her fellow heroines gained an ally in their fight against the supernatural plague. Which in theory should make Barbara happy. In practice though, she wasn't quite sure how to feel about this, due to very, very personal reasons. Embarrassingly personal. She shook her head, trying to push those thoughts out of her mind. 

Her gesture didn't go unnoticed by Duela. "What's up, Batsy?"

Barbara shrugged, feigning indifference. "Nothing."

Duela looked up and down at her. To Barbara, it felt like an eternal gaze, even though it only really lasted for five or six seconds. She could barely suppress a sigh when Duela finally turned to look back ahead of them.

Some twenty steps away from where they were, a demon crawled over the floor as if in slow motion, leaving a trail of blood behind itself. Barbara instinctively looked down to see if there wasn't any other creature in their way, and spotted a big brown spider as it started to creep up Duela's boot. She drew a small weapon out of her utility belt and aimed at the arachnid. With a thin red ray of light, she killed it instantly, leaving a tiny burning mark on Duela's shoe.

Duela had a start and stopped dead on her tracks. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Saving your life," Barbara said, pointing at the scorched remains of the spider lying on the floor.

Duela looked down at it. "Ah... Oh... Um..."

For a minute, it seemed that the tide had turned to Barbara's favor. Duela looked as if she didn't quite know what to say or do, her usual smugness seemingly gone. Barbara savored this vision.

It didn't last for long though. Duela cocked her head and pulled her lips in a smirk. "You owe me a new pair of boots."

Barbara pouted as they resumed their walking. "You gotta love grateful people."

Duela's voice was loud and cutting. "Quit whining, Batsy. I didn't ask for your help. I don't need it." As if trying to reinforce her point, Duela raised her cane and hit the wall by her right side, smashing another big spider as a result. "See? I don't need you."

_Really? You say you don't need me?_ , Barbara thought, but she didn't say a word. She could list quite a few occasions when Duela's acts didn't match her dismissive words. Like that time right after they defeated those zombies. Or that other time right after they crushed a robot army. Or that day right after they sent a swarm of giant insects to hell. Or...

The pattern that emerged from those memories made Barbara want to run away. Not necessarily from Duela, but rather from herself. The sort of... thing that had been happening between them whenever they defeated a common enemy together shouldn't be allowed to exist even in her thoughts, let alone in real life. And right now, they were just about to finish one more joint mission. They just had to walk down that long corridor, enter the room at its end, crush a few objects, and then it would all be over. Barbara worried about what would follow. On the one hand, it was nice to know that Duela retained a human side to her, certainly prompted by her survival instinct, that made her stand by the right side of the law whenever things in the world got too deadly even for herself. On the other hand, that kind of situation had repeated itself so frequently over the last years, that it had forced Barbara to spend way more time in Duela's company than would be advisable. Which might not be so bad in and of itself, wasn't it for... the consequences. 

They caught up with the crawling demon. Although it wasn't really lying in their way, as there was enough room in the corridor for them to go ahead without stepping onto it, Duela kicked it to the left. The creature let out a small cry.

Barbara clenched her fists. That was uncalled for. Why couldn't Duela have a little more respect for any living being other than herself? Then again, Barbara herself wouldn't be in that castle wasn't it for her mission to do what was needed to kill those last remaining creatures for once and for all. It would be hypocritical of hers to pretend that she was a friend and protector to the agonizing demons and spirits. This was the only reason why she kept her mouth shut instead of giving in to her first impulse to confront Duela. 

Now, only a dozen steps separated then from the room at the end of the corridor. A spirit came flying out of it. If that was a human being, Barbara would have thought it had been starving for several days, given its fragile, emaciated look. In a sense, one could say that this was probably the case, since the spirits preyed on people's emotions, having driven many to madness or suicide over the last two months. But the previous week, Barbara and Carrie had uncovered the secret mystical organization behind the supernatural plague. It went by the pseudo-poetic name of Lively Soul Stars, or LSS, and its members had crafted esoteric amulets and hidden them inside abandoned haunted buildings to invoke and control vast hordes of spirits and demons.

Since the organization's plans were discovered and its members defeated, Barbara and her mates had been travelling all over the world in search of abandoned buildings that were known or suspected to be haunted, trying to find all the amulets. With the subsequent, gradual destruction of those items, the supernatural creatures that used to draw their strength from them had been turning weaker and weaker, quickly losing their ability to live in the human world, and then returning to wherever they had come from. Which was obviously the fate that awaited the spirit that now floated in front of Barbara and Duela.

The ethereal being clutched at itself as the duo approached it. Lowering its head, it stayed still as Duela and Barbara passed through its body and crossed the threshold into the chamber.

By now, Barbara had become well acquainted with the accentuated scent of roses that dominated the environment, coming from the oily liquid in the red porcelain basin. But a vague uneasiness in her stomach indicated that she still found it too sweet for her tastes. She almost preferred the smell of mold over that.

The scent was so pronounced, that Barbara as always noticed it before paying any attention to the amount of demons and spirits in the chamber. It was easy to see why so many of them would want to be there. Atop a small round table at the very center of the room, receiving the rays of sun that came in from windows on both the left and the right walls, there lay the source of their powers. 

Barbara tripped on two of the demons that agonized all over the floor, and Duela kicked half a dozen others out of her way as they marched forward. When only a couple of steps separated her from the table, Barbara stumbled on yet another creature. But this time she lost balance and would have fallen facedown if Duela hadn't grabbed her by the arms.

As Barbara scrambled to her feet, Duela pulled her up so close that their lips almost touched.

They stared at each other, completely static. Barbara would like to be able to read Duela's mind, so that she wouldn't have to be guessing what that spark in her eyes meant exactly. As things stood, all Barbara knew for sure was that those eyes were dangerously close to hers. Then again, she should really be more concerned about her lips, separated from Duela's by a mere inch.

Their silence and stillness was broken as a chorus of wails hit their ears. The spirits would always react like that whenever someone was about to destroy a new batch of demonic amulets. Both Barbara and Duela had a start, and they pulled away from each other at the same time.

That yauping never failed to send shivers down Barbara's spine. The spirits' laments seemed to have the power to pierce through an individual's very soul. No wonder so many had been driven insane by those beings.

Whether Duela felt the same way about that or not, Barbara couldn't tell. The smug smile dancing on her lips now could be just a disguise. But Barbara could certainly have done without the equally smug sound of Duela's voice as she said, "In a hurry, Batsy? We can get to that in a minute. But first we got a job to do here, you know?"

Barbara's nostrils flared. _Ugh, I hate you! And we're not getting to... that. I'm just gonna do what I got to, and then I'm getting the hell out of here_ , she promised to herself. _But why don't you say that out loud, you idiot? Are you afraid of her, Batsy? Oh, no, what did I just do? Called myself Batsy? What the hell?! It's all your fault, Duela! Did I mention that I hate you? And I guess I hate myself a little too. But I hate you wayyy more, just saying._

While Barbara lost herself in these thoughts, Duela turned the back at her, and with one more wide step she was now standing right beside the table. Barbara tried to push the irritation aside as she joined her, but being now right before the source of the scent of roses didn't help. She cast a quick glance at Duela and saw her wrinkle her lips in a slightly disgusted expression. At least Barbara wasn't alone in her dislike of that fragrance.

The two women peered into the contents of the basin lying at the top of the wooden piece. Immersed in a translucent, viscous solution, there were eleven small white disks. Made of ceramic, each of them displayed a silver star painted at its center. The paintings were poorly done, as if performed by children who were still taking their first art lessons. No one in their right mind would ever have suspected those disks to be so dangerous if judging them solely by their appearance. 

In order to destroy the amulets, Barbara and Duela started a mini ritual of sorts. Just hitting the disks with blunt objects or throwing them at a wall or on the floor wouldn't work, despite the fragile material they were made of. The rose-scented solution in which they were immersed possessed magical properties that made them resistent to impact. Thankfully though, Steel had studied the LSS digital archives and found out a way to render that protection null.

The procedure was ridiculously simple. With an emphasis on the ridiculous part, as far as Barbara was concerned. She had to take off her gloves and tuck them into her utility belt, as the mini ritual would only work if she touched the objects with her bare hands.

Duela smirked. "It's strip-tease time, baby," she said as she rolled down the long sleeves of her gloves, humming a melow, vaguely sensual tune.

Barbara rolled her eyes and drew a couple of paper hand towels from a pocket in her belt, laying them down on the edge of the table. Then she also pulled out a device that absorbed humidity. The same one she had tried to employ the first time she performed the mini ritual, six days earlier, believing that she would make things easier by draining all the solution from the basin. Of course, the device broke from the overload and Power Girl, her companion at the time, had a good laugh at her expense. Lesson learned. From that day on, Barbara would only use the device after the procedure was done, not before. She laid it over the paper towels.

Duela folded her gloves carelessly and dropped them on the table. One of them slipped and fell down on a moribund demon. She looked down at it and shrugged, then looked back into the basin.

Barbara dove both hands into the slimy solution and fished a disk from it, only to see it slip back in right away. Duela was more successful than her and managed to hold an amulet firmly in her hands. A second and then a third attempt followed, but it took Barbara four tries to finally grab her first disk, the saliva-looking liquid dripping from her hands as she pulled the object out of the basin.

The spirits wailed even louder than before, giving Barbara the beginning of a light headache as she started the step-by-step process to break the disk's magical protection. First, while holding the amulet with her left hand, she placed her right thumb over the silver star at the center of the piece, counted until three, then rubbed it up and down five times. Then she inverted hands and repeated the procedure. 

Next, she would have to drop the disk on the floor, but before she could do it, she felt something touch her left ankle. It was a crawling demon, holding onto her with its small hands as if asking for help. Barbara pulled her leg off of its hold and turned her back on the creature, not being able to avoid a slight twinge in her chest. 

Meanwhile, Duela uttered the magic word that marked the end of the mini ritual. Her voice sounded a little too joyful and enthusiastic for Barbara's taste, given the meaning of the word. But she had to go on with her own part of the task and try to ignore Duela as best she could.

It was impossible to hear the sound of the ceramic hitting the stony floor, so loud were the collective laments of the spirits. And they wouldn't be shutting up until the last amulet had been destroyed. Hoping that her headache wouldn't go past the light level despite that piercing cacophony, Barbara let out a sigh and started the second stage in the mini ritual.

With the heel of her right boot, she trod on the disk. Then she waited five seconds and dit it again, and after another five seconds, she repeated the gesture. Next, she went through the same process using the heel of her left boot.

At this point, the amulet on the floor still looked completely intact. Barbara knew that was about to change though. There was just one step left in the mini ritual, and that was the quickest and easiest of all. Barbara simply said, "Die!" Then, she crossed her arms and just watched. She would much rather start working on another amulet right away, but according to the rules that governed the kind of magic employed by the LSS organization, one individual couldn't perform a second mini ritual while the effects of the first one were still ongoing. So, Barbara had no choice but to wait.

A crack tore open on the amulet, followed by a second one, and then by a third, a fourth, a fifth, a tenth one. When the twelfth fissure appeared on the ceramic, golden sparks flew from the openings on its surface. The object turned darker and darker, as if an invisible brush was there applying successive new layers of paint onto it.

In less than twenty seconds, the sparks died down. Then, the amulet crumbled into a tiny pile of black powder. Only now Barbara could grab a second disk and start it all over again.

By the time she pulled the sixth amulet out of the basin, Duela had already taken care of her own six-disk quota. Barbara had a faint hope that she would be leaving her alone, but no such luck.

Duela just grabbed a paper towel from the table and dried her hands and wrists with such slow movements, that it was obvious she didn't have the slightest intention to go for now. "Come on, Batsy," she yelled barely above the spirits' desperate chorus. "I'm not even one of you good guys, yet I'm done with my part in saving the world. Why do you have to be so sluggish? No, wait, 'incompetent' is the word I want."

Barbara tried to fix her attention on the round object in her soaked hands, struggling to ignore Duela's teasing, as well as her own impatience and that weak yet persistent headache. She couldn't perform the mini ritual any faster. Every little step in it had to be taken in the exact way and at the exact time as prescribed.

Right as Barbara started treading on the disk with her left foot, Duela grabbed the humidity absorber and turned it on. Barbara had urges to tell her to put that back on the table and not touch it again. Even though in theory that device could only really be employed in one specific way, who knew what twisted alternative uses Duela might come up with if given the chance? But her worries almost caused her to miss the five-second wait between the first and the second treading. So, Barbara had to swallow her unspoken complaints and bring her focus back to her nearly finished task.

Less than a minute later, a dark powdery pile appeared where the last ceramic disk had just been. As soon as it happened, the spirits all vanished away. Their cacophony abruptly gave place to a near complete silence, broken only by a few weak moans from the last living demons. But in a matter of seconds, those soft sounds died down as well.

Duela and Barbara didn't say a word as they stood next to each other, the former putting her gloves back on and the latter drying her hands, first with a paper towel, then with the humidity absorber. The device hadn't been destroyed nor given alternative uses after all. Still, Barbara couldn't shake away from her mind an increasing sense of imminent danger. 

She should be happy and relieved, shouldn't she? The headache wasn't completely gone yet, but other than that, everything was fine. The spirits had faded into nothing, and the demons now lay dead. Regardless of where those souls had returned to, nobody else would get bitten, mutilated, eaten alive, driven to madness or pushed to suicide. Mission fully accomplished. And whatever one might think or say of Duela, the truth still remained that she had helped with that as much as any of Barbara's friends.

This should be a time to celebrate. Barbara could finally break free from her worries. And, hopefully, from certain undesirable companies too. _Yeah, that's it. I'm not letting that... thing happen. Not again,_ Barbara decided as she put her gloves on. She couldn't help but notice that Duela had her eyes ostensibly fixed on her, watching her every movement. Duela also seemed to be standing a little closer to her now. Barbara shifted on her feet. _It's not like that's fate or something. It's not like I'm doomed. I'm free now. I know I am. I'm gonna get out of here and nobody's gonna stop me. Nobody._

Barbara stowed the humidity absorber in the appropriate slot in her utility belt. She put her paper towel into a pocket that she used to store garbage provisionally in the absence of nearby trash cans. Then she hunkered down and picked up from the floor the towel that Duela had tossed, trying to ignore her snickering. 

"No, I get it," Duela said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just because this place is riddled with spiders, mildew and rotting corpses, doesn't mean we should turn it into an even bigger of a trash can than it already is."

"For once in your life, you're right," Barbara said dryly as she stood back up and pocketed the other towel. Her hands sweat inside her gloves as she thought of what to say next. She had to leave that castle as fast as possible and make sure that Duela and her would go separate ways afterwards.

Barbara took a sideway step, hoping to put some more physical distance between them. She almost stepped into a dead demon and her body swayed for a second, but she kept her balance. In as casual a tone as she could fake, she said, "Okay, we have no reason to stay here any longer. Time to go now." 

"Nope." With a fast move, Duela grabbed her by the waist. "Time to party!" Another fast move followed, and she locked her lips into Barbara's.

Keeping her eyes open and putting both hands on Duela's shoulders, Barbara made what in theory should have been an effort to pull away from her. But her timid movements were ridiculously unconvincing even to herself. She then tilted her head slightly back in a weak attempt to break the kiss, which didn't work either, as Duela dove her fingers in her hair and pulled her closer.

_I can't believe this is happening again!_ Barbara thought as she finally closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the inner struggle between her urge to run away and the desire to remain exactly where she was.

A warm breeze came in from the windows, reminding her that the room was really dominated by a headache-inducing fragrance of roses, rather than by Duela's natural scent. She wondered for how long the solution's smell would cover the odor of decaying corpses that would obviously follow soon. The spirits might have vanished leaving nothing behind, but the deceased demons were all there.

She found these distracting thoughts somewhat comforting. At least a part of her mind still worked as it should. A shame that another part of her mind ordered her to follow her body's lead and keep making out with a major enemy.

Duela broke the kiss at last. She held Barbara's chin as if to ensure that she wouldn't be looking away. Yet, her touch felt almost... gentle, much to Barbara's puzzlement. That woman sure knew how to drive one mad. "You know," she said in a soft, husky voice, "there have to be better places than this for our little party. Let's go somewhere more romantic or sexy. Which do you prefer, Batsy?" 

It was always like that. Duela would offer her choices, giving a false idea that Barbara was somewhat in control of the situation, and the trick worked every time. Despite knowing that all too well, Barbara allowed herself to fall for it once again. "Whatever. It's the going somewhere else part that matters. Let's just get out of here, okay?" 

"Okay then." Duela let go of Barbara's chin and turned to the room's entrance. "I know this really neat place that I want to show you."

Following Duela Dent to an unspecified site was like playing with fire, cyanide and wild beasts all at once. Yet, the tightness in Barbara's chest loosened as she accepted that she was indeed surrendering once again. She knew she would be fine after all. Way too fine, really. Which was why there was this inner voice whispering that she should be ashamed of herself. But while being one of the most untrustworthy people in the world under most circumstances, Duela certainly could be trusted to find interesting ways to silence those inconvenient voices that threatened to hinder one from enjoying herself. 

Both women walked out of the room, careful not to bump on the numerous corpses that covered its floor. They reached the corridor, where just a couple of bodies lay ahead of them, leaving enough space for them to walk more freely.

As they marched on, Duela placed an arm around Barbara's waist. The gesture oozed authority, as if meant to signal who was in charge. But it wasn't met with any protests from Barbara. She was just glad to realize that her headache had finally faded away.


End file.
